Posted by
peripheral on Friday, April 30, 2010 6:22:44 AM
From My Perspective - - -
In this multi-lingual world, communication is vital and important.
There are far too many languages to learn so translators and linguists
are employed in the hope that accurate communication can occur. More
than 100 years ago, a means of communication was developed based upon
sounds that were transmitted. Most people are knowledgeable in terms of
Morse Code. Almost everyone knows that Dot-Dot-Dot, Dash-Dash-Dash,
Dot-Dot-Dot stands for SOS (Save Our Ship). Morse Code was originally
created for Samuel F. B. Morse's electric telegraph in the early 1840s.
Morse code was also extensively used for early radio communication
beginning in the 1890s. In the early part of the twentieth century, the
majority of high-speed international communication was conducted in
Morse code, using telegraph lines, undersea cables, and radio circuits.
Morse code is a type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic
information using rhythm. Morse code uses a standardized sequence of
short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation
and special characters of a given message. The short and long elements
can be formed by sounds, marks, or pulses, in on off keying and are
commonly known as "dots" and "dashes" or "dits" and "dahs". The speed
of Morse code is measured in words per minute (WPM) or characters per
minute.
It’s fascinating to read a recently published article: “People All Across The World Are Discovering Numerous Ways To Communicate”
By Jeff Winkler in The Daily Caller on 04/29/10. He writes: “In London,
a translation firm has posted an ad on Craigslist seeking freelance
translators. They’re not interested in Chinese, Italian or even Swahili
speakers. They need people who speak Brooklynese. According to the New York Daily News:
The freelance gig pays up to $210 a day. It’s open to anyone who can
decipher such Brooklynisms as “not for nothin,’” “cawfee” and
“whatayagonna do? We’re looking for someone who loves the dialect and
is able to understand someone who has the heaviest Brooklyn accent,
said Mick Thorburn, spokesman for Today Translations….The most amazing
story of the day comes from The Daily Mail, which is reporting that a
blind boy has acquired his sight by learning a different language. To
be clear, the language is dolphin…Young Jamie Aspland utters tiny
high-pitch clicks to rebound the sound off surfaces and guide him round
obstacles. The four-year-old who was born without his sight was taught
the echo location technique as part of an exciting technique pioneered
in the U.S to help the blind. He copied the technique dolphins used to
navigate their way through the murky depths – using high pitch clicks
to penetrate objects and reflect off their internal structure. Jamie is
able to mirror that behavior, which complements his use of a cane, by
flicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth to mimic the
porpoise’s underwater tones. Little Jamie still hasn’t decided what he
wants to be when he grows up. He’s narrowed it down either Dr.
Doolittle or The Daredevil.
There was a time when there was just one language in the world. Genesis
11:1-9 gives the account of when and why multiple languages came into
being. The text states: “The whole world had one language and a common
speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled
there. They said to each other, Come, let's make bricks and bake them
thoroughly. They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then
they said, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to
the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be
scattered over the face of the whole earth. But the Lord came down to
see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said,
If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this,
then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them…let us go down
and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. So
the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped
building the city. That is why it was called Babel - because there the
Lord confused the language of the whole world...” One of the
instigators of this plan was Nimrod (his name means: “Let Us Revolt”).
Today, finding ways and means to communicate clearly and accurately is
a challenge and need. And yet, The Bible reminds us that “Actions Speak
Louder Than Words.” In I John 3:18, “…let us not love with words or
tongue but with actions and in truth.” If this is implemented, we can
easily get beyond merely Click-Click Communication. At least, let’s
try! Consider these things with me!